Baltic Exchange and Freightos launches global container freight index

Baltic Exchange and digital container freight platform Freightos have jointly announced that the Freightos International Freight Index will now be audited by the Baltic Exchange and republished as the Freightos Baltic Indices.

The new indices will also include a new headline index – the FBX Global Container Index (FBX) – a weighted average of the 12 underlying route indexes, while setting the stage for derivative financial instruments in the future.

The 12 shipping routes included in the index are China/East Asia to North America West Coast, North America West Coast to China/East Asia, China/East Asia to North America East Coast, North America East Coast to China/East Asia, China/East Asia to North Europe, North Europe to China/East Asia, China/East Asia to Mediterranean, Mediterranean to China/East Asia, North America East Coast to Europe, Freightos Europe to North America East Coast China/East Asia, Europe to South America East Coast, and Europe to South America West Coast.

“Baltic Exchange benchmarks are already widely used as settlement mechanisms in the derivatives and physical markets for billions of dollars-worth of bulk freight transactions. Our products have allowed shipowners, charterers and traders to manage the volatile business of moving bulk commodities by sea. We comply with the standards set by International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and have been publishing data since 1985. By offering our robust auditing methodology to the FBX, we hope to provide the framework for the container shipping industry to develop sophisticated risk management tools,” commented Mark Jackson, chief executive of Baltic Exchange.

Yesterday, Baltic Exchange also announced that it will be introducing a modernised code of conduct for shipowners, charterers and shipbrokers using the physical shipping and freight derivatives markets.

Jason is one of the most prolific writers on the diverse China shipping & logistics industry and his access to the major maritime players with business in China has proved an invaluable source of exclusives. Having been working at Asia Shipping Media since inception, Jason is the chief correspondent of Splash and associate editor of Maritime CEO magazine. Previously he had written for a host of titles including Supply Chain Asia, Cargo Facts and Air Cargo Week.